1 . My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and begged for help. “Please God, I can’t do any thing more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I cried and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of nay hands. ”For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll. In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That's when I knew I had to make you proud.”
1. There was silence on the other end of the line because __________| A．the speaker was too moved to say anything to the mother |
| B．the speaker was not listening |
| C．the speaker had gone away |
| D．the speaker was unable to speak |
| A．he was even on the list to be punished |
| B．he was even on the list of students who were lazy |
| C．he was even on the list of students who were always late for school |
| D．he was even on the list of the best students at school |
| A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems. |
| B．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents. |
| C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers. |
| D．Mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life. |
| A．great | B．foolish |
| C．stupid | D．dishonest |
2 . A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty-six days in a life raft (救生艇)in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, in Simony, they met some whales (鲸).“ They started to hit the side of the boat,” said Bill,“ and then suddenly we heard water. ” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water—two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw(生的).Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks(鲨鱼) came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn’t stand up. So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.
1. Bill and Simone were traveling _______ when they met some whales.| A．in a lake | B．in a river |
| C．in a sea | D．in a desert |
| A．jumped into the sea | B．heard water |
| C．watched the boat sail away | D．stayed in the life raft |
| A．they stood up as quickly as possible |
| B．they climbed onto the boat easily |
| C．their life raft was in good condition |
| D．their two months at sea was over |
